In/Spectre (English)

Kotoko witnesses a brutal fight between Steel Lady Nanase and a young man, only it’s not who she thinks it is. Saki joins in, prompting Kotoko to remember a clue from Kuro’s youth. One thing is clear: Steel Lady Nanase is no ordinary spectre.

Yokai, ayakashi, spectres, demons, mononoke, and ghosts—an order prevails through all. And no transgression against the order is ignored. Kotoko has a solution and Kuro is poised to leave the final blow.

Kotoko puts her deductive talents to work and very nearly succeeds until, that is, the forum moves on. Luckily, she has a few other ideas up her sleave to stop Rikka and render her powerless.

Kotoko employs her powers of deduction and weaves a tale of tragic love, astonishing even the great snake before her. The violence continues two years later in Makurazaka City, where the culprit seems to be the ghost of a former idol.

Kotoko is all aflutter when she bumps into Kuro at the hospital. Once she works up the nerve to ask Kuro out, he mentions his ex, but Kotoko already knows. As if things couldn’t get weirder, a cuddly “bake-danuki” shows himself.

On arrival to Makurazaka City, Kotoko sets out to shed light on the Steel Lady Nanase case and calls on the investigative prowess of Saki. Together they learn the former idol-turned killer met a strange end.

A new realization may be Kotoko’s saving grace—the spectral origins of Steel Lady Nanase dwell in illusive, seemingly impenetrable spaces. To succeed, Kotoko must weave a story beyond anyone’s imagination.

Saki recalls the first time she met Kuro’s cousin, Rikka Sakuragawa, and soon learns that she has passed. As Saki drills Kotoko for answers, discussion catches fire online, somehow fueling a surge in Steel Lady Nanase’s destructive energy.

Everything is in place, and the committee to take down Steel Lady Nanase is ready to act. A battle between fact and fiction is about to unfold, and Kotoko has plenty of her own deductions to post.

A giant snake turns to Kotoko for help—a human corpse, the victim of a murder, has been left festering in his swamp. Having learned about Kuro’s ability, Kotoko seeks to join forces, but Kuro declines.

Three hypotheses have become Kotoko’s weapon of choice, while Kuro attempts to gain control of the future itself. Rikka, however, is determined to quash their dreams. To make matters worse, Steel Lady Nanase isn’t who she appears to be.

As Kotoko tracks Nanase, a wake of death continues to consume and destroy. Nanase’s identity as murderer can no longer be kept secret, nor can the loss of innocent life. Kotoko and Kuro realize tonight everything must change.